"Isn't this a normal train of thought......" Lord Amanhod struggled to defend himself, but Lord Siris didn't give the other party a chance to defend himself at all.

"Then we all got the information that Prince Ashrufat was about to march east to attack Dosonian. He continued. "But you still ignore this information, thinking that it is more likely that he will go north along the coast. So you lead the army to circle along the coast, losing the opportunity to pursue him in the first place. Lord Hurd, however, is an idiot who lacks intelligence. He tried to sacrifice the city to delay the enemy, but if he really wanted to delay Eshurufat, he should have left all his war beasts behind. He was reluctant to let go of those burdens, and was overtaken by Prince Ashrufat. Then," he paused. "By the time you've led your legion halfway there, you'll have no need to come to your rescue. ”

"And then, we got the intel. This time the intelligence says that Prince Ashrufat will be heading north to attack our mines. This time you finally believe the information, and lead your legion all the way to the mines to meet Prince Ashrufat. Unfortunately, Ashrufat didn't go to the mines at all, so he turned around and first defeated the defenseless Dossonian, slaying all the beasts inside, and then marching back to the coast. So, while your army was in the mining area and doing nothing, he captured the Gray Star Harbor, which was heavily drawn and therefore underfortified. ”

Lord Siris smiled and nodded. "You don't believe information when you should believe it most. You believe in the last thing you should have believed. Is that thing around your neck really for thinking?, no matter how stupid Prince Ashrufat is, he already knows that there are our hidden spies in his army. Even if he was really naïve and didn't know anything before, then when Hurd made a gesture of retreat and evasion, he would have noticed it. He came up to the prisoner with a smile on his face.

"But...... But...... Grey Star Harbor ......"

"Is that a well-defended city?" said Lord Siris. "So it shouldn't have been captured?ahhh Yes, under normal circumstances, Grey Star Harbor should not have been captured, even if there were not enough defenders there, but you seem to have overlooked, that is under 'normal circumstances', when the defenders are one step ahead of the rest of the information and ready to defend, not when they are attacked without knowing anything!" his voice became stern. "You forgot one thing, after the news spread that Prince Essupat had turned to Dosonian and was about to enter the mines, the coastal cities that had been in good prominence were all able to resume their daily operations instead of being in a constant state of war readiness. As for the Grey Star Harbor, those stupid guys even dismantled part of the outer fortifications to facilitate trade. ”

"Woo...... Lord Amanhod's body trembled as he sensed a terrifying aura. "But how can I ...... I don't want to ......."

"According to the intelligence, Prince Ashrufat convened a large military council and circulated the orders of the Phoenix King to the people. The Phoenix King clearly instructed him to attack the mines...... Ha Lu Ha ...... If he was to obey this order, there was no need for him to hold a meeting at all. If he was going to disobey, he wouldn't show it to everyone...... You can't even analyze such an obvious logical contradiction?"

"His Majesty the Witch King is very unhappy with such a stupid thing. The smile on his face did not change, and the prisoner trembled, and for a moment his face became as white as a dead man.

"Don't worry, I didn't intend to skin you off, nor did I intend to tear you apart. I have a principle, and that is not to waste. The witches are waiting, eager to carry out a sacrifice to the gods before going to war. This kind of sacrifice requires a noble sacrifice, and it is not something that can be counted by pulling a captive over at random. His voice was still gentle and kind, but it was chilling. "But, you're a good fit. ”

After speaking, he didn't care about the other party's reaction, and reached out to make a gesture to his subordinates. They dragged the prisoner, who was already powerless, out of the city, and the footsteps soon died down.

Lord Siris returned to his place, still smiling, looking around at all his generals.

"I remember I was assigned a small task, and now I'm going to ask, how did this task go?"

The generals looked at each other, and after a few seconds, there was finally an opening.

"Your Excellency, we have accomplished this task. ”

"Very well, since it is done, then say it. ”

"Prince Ashrufat has a total of five cronies. The admiral who commanded the navy was named Valinor, the naval commander of the city of Erebe, who had been serving under Prince Bellan. It was only after the death of Prince Berlan that he changed to Prince Ashrufat. He is also said to be good at naval warfare, but most of his achievements have been sporadic conflicts with humans. ”

"That's right...... Nice, what else?"

"There's also a shadow warrior called Swift Wind. One of the shadow warriors who moved to the territory of Iriber, it is said to have been on the battlefield for a long time. He also joined Prince Ashrufat after the death of Prince Berlan, and according to intelligence, he was very appreciated by the prince, and was promoted from an ordinary soldier to a captain, in charge of scouting, and later among the lieutenants. But if our intelligence is reliable, his abilities are mediocre and unremarkable. ”

"And a third, a young nobleman named Aracet. He was a favorite of the Emerald Queen, and this time accompanied Prince Essrubat on his expedition as a recorder and advisor. According to our information, this person is also a well-known scholar in the Emerald Court, and he is well versed in all kinds of knowledge, especially historical records, and is an authority that no one questions about. We suspect that the 'new route' that Prince Ashruphat had previously known to him might have been translated from the ancient texts by Aracet. In addition, he seems to be well versed in the geography of Nagalus, and we can confirm that he has in his hands many maps of expeditions left behind by our ancestors. Prince Ashrufat's ability to march quickly without any obstacle must have something to do with him. ”

"Interesting...... That can explain a lot of things......" Lord Siris muttered to himself thoughtfully.

"The fourth is an elven general named Garth. He was previously the military commander of the Emerald Court and was a trusted general of the Queen. According to our intelligence, he has participated in many large-scale military operations in Azur, has a good track record, and is also experienced and proficient in military affairs. Very qualified as a lieutenant. In actual battles, he has independently commanded detachments on many occasions, and has more than once served as the prince's forward or rear guard. ”

"The fifth, who was also once a subordinate of the Emerald Court, is a female white lion warrior named Kaye......"

"Kaye?" interrupted Lord Siris. "I love the name, the same name as my sister. He said with interest.

"Your sister?"

"I was once sent to a witch's training...... Unfortunately, the Azuls attacked the city. Ah, that's just my boring sigh, you go on. ”

“...... Although she is younger, she also has a lot of combat experience. In particular, she had previously participated in more than one invasion of Nagalos. Probably because of this, the Jade Queen recommended her for the position of lieutenant general. ”

"Interesting, really funny...... So, almost all of Prince Ashrufat's men are members ......of the Emerald Court?

"But Ashrufat organized an expedition with the support of the Jade Queen, and the Jade Queen recommended generals for him, which is a normal behavior. A subordinate asked tentatively.

"No, it's not normal!" Lord Siris muttered to himself in a voice that could only be heard by himself. This may explain one of my previous mysteries...... This Prince Ashorufat...... Who the hell is it?"

"Everyone. After a few seconds of silence, Lord Siris looked up. "The Witch King has given me an order, a simple order, and that is to make Prince Ashrufat disappear from Nagaros as quickly as possible. While you're spending time in the mines, Prince Ashrufat has captured Greystarport...... Ah, that was three days ago. But judging by what he had done in Ampllis, he would stay there for a few more days, and destroy it completely! He would release all the slaves, at least the human and Azul slaves, as he had done before, and let them join his army. In this way, his army will not only be able to make up for the losses, but even increase them further in numbers!"

......

"Your Majesty, we have proven the reliability of the information through various channels. "The clerk respectfully reported. "Now it is known about the specific actions of Prince Ashrufat. ”

"Tell me about it. The Phoenix King's spirits lifted. For a while, only this good news could make him look forward to.

"After a short rest, Prince Eshuruphat turned back with his army, and under the cover of magic and dragons, he captured Dosonian, with a swift raid, and burned him to the ground. All the monsters that remained in the city were destroyed. As I explained to you before, the city's defenses are extremely weak at this time. He cautiously slaughtered all the beasts in the city, and then immediately turned around and chose to pounce on the Gray Star Harbor in a straight line. During this time, he forbade the army to use any magic, so the dragon princes will not be able to inform you of the situation. ”

"Hah...... Hahaha...... I see, is Prince Ashrufat even calculating with me?" the Phoenix King let out a loud laugh. Sure enough, the prince understood my hint.

"In addition to this, we have confirmed that the head witch of the Grey Harbor Temple, Iluvita, has been killed by Prince Ashrufat. She was killed by the prince in a one-on-one duel. Prince Ashrufat carefully arranged his army, and none of the evil Duruzi escaped ......"

A hurried footstep interrupted the conversation, and another official arrived. The slightly twitching expression on his face suggests that he seems to have brought some important secrets with him.

"Say, there are no outsiders here. ”

"Prince Ashrufat has brought a secret letter. In his secret letter, he said that he had freed the slaves in the city of Duruzzi in order to replenish his army, so he wished to forgive their sins in your name, restore them to their soldiers, and promise to return humanity to their kingdom. ”

"I have given Prince Ashrufat full authority to act in his right hands. The Phoenix King pondered for a moment and replied. "But about pardons and sending people home...... The latter will try to arrange it when the war is over...... As for the former...... When the time comes, I will hold an open and fair trial to find out how exactly they became captives of our evil cousins. If it is under the action of force majeure, forgiveness is a matter of course, and there will be no problem. But if it's because of cowardice, or even taking the initiative to join the enemy...... The Yasur cannot tolerate such behavior. ”

"And it is possible that there was a Truzzi disguised himself and hid among the slaves. The official who had reported the situation earlier added.

"That's how it was to answer Prince Ashorufat. He'll know how to do it. ”